Sunday, January 27, 2013

January 27

Friendly Reminder - Please inform the office if your child will be out of school or late for any reason. Courtney Ireland is the "go to person" on this- cireland@wdsdvt.net or 244-6100.

CBMS PTO BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT VOLUNTEER/FOOD SIGN-UP - We are proud to host the 2nd Annual PTO Basketball Tournament for 5th and 6th grade boys and girls. Boys are playing Sat. and girls are playing on Sun. There will be trophies and recognitions for participating teams. This is a wonderful community and family event which many enjoyed last year! Hope you can join the fun and cheer for our local youth! Please fill out the e-form by clicking here so we have record of who's helping us! If you have any questions, please contact Missy Semprebon at missy@calmontbeverage.com or 802-244-1918. Thanks for your support of the CBMS PTO!

CBMS PTO INTERNATIONAL DINNER SIGN-UP - Sat., Feb. 9, 6-9 PM - Please sign-up for an international dish to share! The more cooks, the more interesting the dinner will be! We will have a guest speaker from the Ivory Coast. Feel free to bring a main dish (entree) OR a dessert. (Or you can bring both!) To access the online sign-up form, click here. Thanks! For questions, please contact Belle McDougall, e-mail btmcdougall@gmail.com

Join local and state professionals for an ongoing series of youth health and safety topics.

Panel discussion will focus on personal safety and bullying on the internet.

For more information, contact Linda King (kingl@harwood.org) or Mara Urban (urbanm@harwood.org)

Latest News & Views - The Music Man is coming to CBMS, and students from TBPS will be off to see some amazing sights at the Fleming Museum of Art! Check out the article on the front page to see who was awarded "The John Poeton Award"... PreK registration is coming up, the Children's Room has a bunch of fun activities planned and check out all of the great pictures of the Medieval Fair. Please find the newsletter by clicking here.

Info on the Green Mountain Dojo Kyokushin Karate & Japanese Cultural Arts Center has been added to theE-community bulletin board. Check it out!

Eight Suggestions for Improving Parent-Teacher Relations - In this New York Times article, sixth-grade teacher Sara Mosle says some parents are overly intrusive, which robs children of the opportunity to solve problems themselves and puts teachers on the defensive. At the other extreme is parents holding back for fear of irritating teachers and sparking retaliation against their children. Here are Mosle’s ideas for a productive middle ground:

Parents should encourage their children to take the lead in sorting out difficulties with teachers. College admissions officers tell school people that they look for students who have developed confidence and “voice.”

Parents and teachers should use e-mail and text messages only to convey simple information like appointments or scheduled absences. For anything more substantive, especially if one party is annoyed or angry, it’s better to pick up the phone or speak in person. Conflicts can escalate in e-mail exchanges in ways that would never happen speaking face to face.

Parents should not cc. the principal or other administrators when e-mailing about routine issues. “It’s disrespectful to teachers and parents alike,” says Palo Alto superintendent Kevin Skelly, “as it sends the message you don’t think there’s even a chance you can work this out on your own.”

Teachers should respond to parent communications promptly, even if it’s a brief acknowledgement and a request for some time to solve a problem. For their part, parents should appreciate that teachers are busy during the day and may have other responsibilities after school. “My students know that I’m unlikely to respond to an e-mail between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.,” says Mosle, “as that’s when I’m focusing on being a parent to my own child.”

Teachers should immediately apologize if they drop the ball. “Nothing is more disarming,” says Skelly, “and it’s so simple to do.”

Teachers and parents should emphasize and build on children’s strengths. Mosle confesses that she doesn’t do this enough as a teacher, and urges everyone, “if you have something positive to say, say it early and often.”

When there are conflicts, parents and teachers should present specific desired outcomes that will help the child do better.

Parents and teachers should “proceed with humility,” says Mosle, taking with a grain of salt occasional bellyaching about teachers, especially by adolescents working through issues with authority. “The teenager, being a teenager, may not rank your parenting skills very high, either,” says Skelly.

“The Parent-Teacher Trap” by Sara Mosle in The New York Times, Jan. 13, 2013,